Fledgling/ Fledgling Flight, 1971, Alfred Kober (American 1937- )
Cor-Ten steel, concrete block
At the time of the work’s creation, the campus had only recently been named Boise State College, and so the artist represented the school as emerging, about to take flight. Funds for Kober to create the piece came from a federal grant with the Higher Education Facilities Act for the Library Learning Center. Similar to the Spirit of the Bronco, this sculpture has intentional rusting to relate the natural concept of a “fledgling” with the oxidization of metal. Kober furthered the symbolism of the “fledgling” by lining up the tail of his piece with the stretch of hills where United Airlines placed their first landing strips.